Jesus is at His third trial in the span of several hours, but the first which is legal. The Sanhedrin has been called; those who tried Jesus illegally during the night are trying to get Him to incriminate Himself again. At the previous trial, they gathered witnesses to accuse Him of blasphemy, but none of the witnesses' testimonies agreed (Mark 14:55–59). Jesus did admit to being the Messiah (Matthew 26:63–64); now, they need Him to repeat that claim before the whole council.

They ask Jesus if He is the Christ. He responds, "If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I ask you, you will not answer" (Luke 22:67–68). His words reveal that as they are putting Him on trial, He is doing the same to them. They refuse to acknowledge their Messiah and are therefore guilty of blasphemy. Now, Jesus shows how deeply wrong they are. They aren't just rejecting their Messiah; they're rejecting their God.

Jesus knows He must walk the road to the cross, so He gives them what they need. He has referred to Himself as "the Son of Man" throughout His public ministry. It's possible He did so to point out that He is fully man, a representation of humanity, much like how God used the term to refer to Ezekiel (Ezekiel 2:1). Here, however, Jesus assumes the full meaning, the prophecy of Daniel 7:13–14:

"I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed."

The accusers see their chance. They think Jesus has committed blasphemy by claiming to sit at God's right hand; in their eyes, this denigrates God's status as transcendent. Now they go in for the kill by asking Jesus if He is the Son of God; He uses a common expression to agree (Luke 22:70). This is what they need: not only is He claiming equality with their God, but He's claiming equality with—even superiority over—the emperor.

Luke 22:66–71 records Jesus' third and only legal trial before the Jewish leaders. Whatever Jesus said in the first two trials doesn't matter. In this third trial, before the Sanhedrin, they make an official charge: Jesus formally claims to be the Son of God. His claim, they think, blasphemes God and the Roman emperor—a capital offense. Matthew 27:1–2 and Mark 15:1 only say that at this trial the Sanhedrin agree to take Jesus to Pilate (Luke 23:1–5). After Pilate sees Jesus, he'll send Him to Herod Antipas (Luke 23:6–12) before the Sanhedrin convinces Pilate to crucify Jesus (Luke 23:13–25).

Luke 22 is a long chapter which records events leading to Jesus' political trials and crucifixion. He has successfully taught crowds at the temple and proved His authority over the religious leaders (Luke 19:47—20). Meanwhile the leaders have spent the week planning to arrest Jesus and have Him killed (Luke 19:47–48). This chapter records the Last Supper, the arrest on the Mount of Olives, and the trials before the Jewish religious leaders. Matthew 26, Mark 14, and John 18 cover much of the same information.

Luke 23 continues Jesus' trials before Pilate and Herod Antipas. He is then led to the cross where He forgives His murderers and saves a thief before He dies. In Luke 24, Jesus rises from the dead, meets two disciples while they travel, and explains to them how the Old Testament prophesied the death of the Messiah. In the final scene of the gospel, Jesus is reunited with His disciples, blesses them, and ascends into heaven.

Luke was a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 16:10) and a physician (Colossians 4:14). Unlike Matthew, Mark, and John, Luke writes his gospel as an historian, rather than as a first-hand eyewitness. His extensive writings also include the book of Acts (Acts 1:1–3). These are deliberately organized, carefully researched accounts of those events. The gospel of Luke focuses on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Luke's Gentile perspective presents Christ as a Savior for all people, offering both forgiveness and direction to those who follow Him.

Accessed 5/4/2024 11:46:30 PM

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